A Real Plan for Higher Education
Dayne Sherman
April 21, 2014
Column / 700 words
Did you hear
about the new bill to make “duck wrestling” the Louisiana state
sport? It will honor Duck Dynasty, the popular reality TV
program based in West Monroe.
No, this is not a
bill filed this year, but don't be surprised if it's filed next year.
In Louisiana, politics is entertainment. If it's not Huey Long
leading the LSU band in Tiger Stadium, then it's Gov. Edwin W.
Edwards, known as a “wizard under the sheets,” unlike former
Klansman David Duke, a wizard wearing sheets.
The latest
imbroglio with freshman Rep. Vance McAllister, R-Swartz, the “Kissing Congressman,” is a mere sideshow. It ranks right there with
“chicken boxing,” the Bible as the state book,
convicted felon Edwin Edwards running for Congress at 86, “Sinator”
David Vitter's “very serious sin,” and Gov. Bobby Jindal being
parodied by an Iranian woman on Saturday
Night Live.
Louisiana
politics is nothing more than a comedy routine.
At
home, however, we have problems, serious ones. The Jindal “economic miracle” is gifting the next governor with a billion dollar shortfall for the state budget beginning on July 1, 2015, just a few
months before Bobby leaves office. Could this be a coincidence?
Keep in mind that
$700 million has been cut from funding to Louisiana higher education,
80 percent of state dollars. Likewise, recall that midyear cuts were
announced at 6:30 PM on Friday, April 4. It's being called a
“spending freeze,” but it's a midyear cut.
Since 2008, I
have seen almost nothing come from of the Legislature to fight the
destruction of higher education in Louisiana. No, gun auctions on
college campuses won't help. Thanks, but no thanks, Rep. Chris Broadwater, R-Hammond. HB 244 is no help at all.
Sure, there has
been some entertainment such as the WISE Plan, an unfunded scam to
keep university leadership quiet, allow for some positive PR spin for
the governor, and provide more meddling in the affairs of state
colleges and universities by Jindal's minions. An alleged money pot
of $40 million is a pittance compared to the $700 million of
vaporized support.
The one legitimate plan I have seen is HB 142, a bill filed by Jerome “Dee”
Richard, I-Thibodaux, and championed by Treasurer John Neely Kennedy.
In short, the law would call for a 10 percent reduction in contracts
per state agency and would reroute the $500 million saved as revenue
earmarked for higher education. All of this with no new taxes.
Why do you
suppose very little has been said in favor of HB 142 by college
leaders?
I suspect they'll
be fired for supporting it. It's simple. I know it, the leaders know
it, and now readers know it. College presidents don't have to receive
a memo from Jindal to see the handwriting on the wall.
Remember, most
major leaders of Louisiana higher education showed up for a staged
announcement of the WISE Plan on January 21 in Baton Rouge. The
camera lights must have blinded the chancellors and presidents to
reality. Perhaps it was just Jindal making a rare appearance in the
state that stunned the leaders into happy submission.
A few Louisiana
higher education advocates pine for the good old days when we had the
Stelly Tax Plan, which gave stable funding for state government. But
most of this was trashed in 2008 by Jindal and his lapdog
legislators. I want to be clear: The Stelly Plan is never coming
back. It's over. Move along.
HB 142 is a real
plan for higher education. The WISE Plan and the activities of the
Louisiana Legislature are mere comic relief cloaked in the trappings
of democracy.
Louisiana higher
education needs a funding plan. We can do without duck wresting and
the unWISE Plan.
Dayne Sherman
resides in Ponchatoula, Louisiana. He covers the South like kudzu and
promises that he never burned Atlanta. He is the author of Welcome
to the Fallen Paradise: A Novel.
His website is daynesherman.com.
////////////////////////////
Dayne
Sherman, Writer & Speaker
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***This message speaks only for the writer, a citizen, not for any present or past employer.***
Web & Social Media: http://daynesherman.com/
Talk About the South Blog: http://daynesherman.blogspot.com/
Tweet the South - Twitter: http://twitter.com/TweettheSouth/
Facebook: http://facebook.com/daynesherman
***This message speaks only for the writer, a citizen, not for any present or past employer.***
